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Police target wrong house (again) and then kill veteran's dog.

A West Side resident and Iraq War veteran with no criminal record is mourning the loss of his rescue dog who was fatally shot during a Buffalo police narcotics raid that apparently targeted the wrong apartment Monday night.

Cindy, a chocolate-brown 2½-year-old pit bull, was shot multiple times while chained up in the kitchen of Adam Arroyo’s apartment on Breckenridge Street near Grant Street, he said in a phone interview.

The search warrant that police left for Arroyo, who was not at home at the time of the raid, lists the upper apartment at the Breckenridge Street address, but there are two upstairs apartments at that address, and Arroyo insists that police targeted the wrong apartment.

The search warrant also states that the apartment is occupied by a “black male.” Arroyo is Hispanic.

After talking with neighbors, Arroyo has pieced together the sequence of events that occurred at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

“They busted the door down, with a battering ram or whatever,” he said. “They came in, and within a few seconds of entering the apartment, they murdered my dog. They shot her multiple times. They had no reason to do that.”

Police late Tuesday said they would investigate any such claim.

“We’ll conduct an internal investigation into any allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the Police Department,” Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards said.

Richards confirmed that a search warrant was executed at that address by narcotics officers and that a dog was shot there.

“They went to the correct location for which the warrant was issued,” he added.

Richards later said detectives who were at the scene insisted that the dog was not chained or leashed in any manner before it was shot.

Arroyo’s landlord called him while he was at his job as a security officer to tell him that his apartment was being raided. He immediately rushed home.

“I saw all the blood and the bullet holes in the wall,” he recalled Tuesday. “I collapsed, and I just started crying. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I’ve been crying all day.”

Arroyo’s copy of the search warrant lists the names of Narcotics Unit detectives who were looking for crack cocaine in his apartment.

“They trashed the place,” he said. “It looks like a tornado hit it.”

One neighbor who was outside prior to the raid said she saw about half a dozen unmarked police cars, before roughly seven to eight officers entered the house.

“All I heard was gunshots. ‘Boom. Boom. Boom,’ ” said the woman who gave only her first name, Jen.

“Then I heard my friend say, ‘Wow, they shot his dog.’ ”

“I fought for this country,” he said. “I put my life on the line for this country. I got shot at so this could be a free country. And this is how I’m treated afterward?”

Arroyo said his dog had a great temperament and was a favorite of neighbors. Kids in the neighborhood used to come by to pet her.

Tuesday, he took Cindy to the SPCA Serving Erie County.

“I’m going to have her cremated, so she can always be with me,” he said.

It's not LEO bashing if it is an accurate description of their actions, it's just the reality

The greatest fear I have of any LEO encounter is when I have one of my dogs with me. The mindset (based on how often it happens), that that they are incapable of reading a dog demeanor, so shoot it. Of course my dogs are going to bark if you come banging on my door, it's their f*ing job!

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg

“We’ll conduct an internal investigation into any allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the Police Department,” Chief of Detectives Dennis J. Richards said.

And what the hell is this, the department will investigate the departments actions....... really, the fox gets to investigate the raid on the chicken coop. At least around here a different agency investigates any questionable actions by a department or member of the department. Most recently when the son of the police chief left the scene of an accident then said he wasn't driving (car registered to the chief) but a guy he know only by a first name was driving. The DA demanded the SBI investigate and now multiple felony charges have been filed against the chiefs son, who is an adult over 21.

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg

I'm formerly from the Buffalo, NY area but now reside in NC. Those cops are the most corrupt pieces of **** I have ever met so this doesn't surprise me at all. I believe about a year ago there was a similar incident where a BPD LEO shot a dog hiding and shaking under the kitchen table during a raid. Most cops are sociopaths that do not deserve to wear a badge let alone a f*ckin weapon. BPD is full of them but one officer that really comes to mind is Adam Brodsky. Google him if you haven't heard of him. He is a rights abusing POS that deserves a freedom loving bullet in the face. Can't believe these lunatics get to act on their insane tendencies and call it law enforcement. Stay vigilant brothers, and I hope that soldier finds some peace in all this hogshit.

... Most cops are sociopaths that do not deserve to wear a badge let alone a f*ckin weapon....

.
^^^Not true.^^^ I'm not defending the police in this incident here, and if this bust/warrant was in fact improperly served this young man will get a fairly hefty settlement. Can't understand about the dog either. Fairly easy to determine if there's a dog in there, and (particularly if there's nobody home) fairly easy to take steps to control the dog without killing it.

That's why I said most and not all. I don't hate cops but today's departments hire on physical fitness not mental fitness. You score an 80 and can pass a physical congrats you're hired. You score a 95 and bomb the physical, sorry better luck next time. I worked with and know a lot of cops from that area and believe me when I tell you, MOST are neanderthal's with authority. But let me be clear, I've also worked with some that were so in control and poised with serious tact. Sadly NYS testing requirements for LEOS are geared toward the physical tests and not the written tests. I do agree with you 100% on the dog issue JCliff.

The metrics used to define what constitutes a sociopath differ a bit depending on the “expert” you talk to, but the generally accepted numbers in society is somewhere between 1-4% of the population. Even if you were to take the ridiculous position that police hiring (across the country) selectively screens FOR sociopaths, it would be extremely difficult to flesh out a force with >50% sociopaths while recruiting from the population at large. Therefore the term “most,” as you have used it, is simply not true. This is the same kind of thinking “most” of us object to when the media uses it to tar “all” or “most” firearm owners as extremist and dangerous.

Most cops are sociopaths that do not deserve to wear a badge let alone a f*ckin weapon.

^^^Not true.^^^ I'm not defending the police in this incident here, and if this bust/warrant was in fact improperly served this young man will get a fairly hefty settlement. Can't understand about the dog either. Fairly easy to determine if there's a dog in there, and (particularly if there's nobody home) fairly easy to take steps to control the dog without killing it.

Correct, BUT there are enough cops that do fall into the sociopath category so that interactions with LEO's always carries a risk, and because of the total impunity with which dogs are shot by cops the odds of a LEO interaction going bad if you have your dog with you increases dynamically. These people seen incapable or uncaring and cannot read a dogs demeanor, so kill it just to be sure.

There are a lot of good, dedicated cops out there, but even they are extremely reluctant to police their own ranks when they are probably aware another officer is a threat to citizens.

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg